The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent four decades in public service as an advocate, attorney, First Lady, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of State, and presidential candidate. After graduating from Wellesley College and Yale Law School, she began her life-long work on behalf of children and families by joining the Children’s Defense Fund. As First Lady of Arkansas, she was Chairwoman of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, and the Children's Defense Fund.

As First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton championed health care for all Americans and led successful bipartisan efforts to improve the adoption and foster care systems, reduce teen pregnancy, and create the Children's Health Insurance Program. She traveled to more than 80 countries standing up for human rights, democracy, and civil society. Her speech in Beijing in 1995 – where she declared that "human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights" – inspired women worldwide and helped galvanize a global movement for women’s rights and opportunities.

As the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of New York, Clinton worked across party lines to expand economic opportunity and access to quality, affordable health care. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she secured funding to rebuild New York and provide health care for first responders who risked their lives working at Ground Zero. She fought for better health care and benefits for wounded service members, veterans, and members of the National Guard and Reserves.

In her four years as Secretary of State -- America's chief diplomat and the President's principal foreign policy adviser -- Clinton played a central role in restoring America’s standing in the world and strengthening its global leadership, visiting 112 countries over 4 years. Her "smart power" approach to foreign policy elevated American diplomacy and development and repositioned them for the 21st century – with new tools, technologies, and partners, including the private sector and civil society around the world. She led the effort to impose crippling sanctions on Iran, laying the foundation for a historic agreement to curb its nuclear program, and negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that prevented a new war in the Middle East. Across the world, she defended universal values and pushed the frontiers of human rights.

In 2016, Clinton made history again by becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. She won the national popular vote, earning the support of nearly 66 million Americans.